6 Signs You Are Too Grown Up For a DIY Move

There comes a time in everyone’s life when moving homes without professional help no longer seems like the logical choice. What used to be a common (albeit chaotic) undertaking now feels like an impossible feat.

Here are six telltale signs you’ve graduated from the DIY move.

1. Your Stress Level is Maxed Out

If the thought of loading a moving van with the entire contents of your home has you on the verge of hyperventilation or tears, you may want to bring in a professional. Suzanne O’Donnell of My LA Organizer says even the most composed individuals can lose their cool during a big move, which is why hiring help is such a smart idea.

“A professional organizer can handle the movers, label all the boxes so they land in the right place, and help you sort through and discard [anything that] does not contribute to your new beginning,” O’Donnell says.

In other words, you won’t have to spend an entire Sunday digging through 12 different boxes all marked “Miscellaneous.”

2. You’ve Accumulated Expensive Furniture

Once you distance yourself from IKEA and start spending your hard-earned money on vintage floor lamps, 10-foot tall wooden bookcases, and pricey living room sofas, you want to treat your things with care.

Which is why the thought of accidentally scraping your glass-top dining table as you carry it through the apartment stairwell sends you into panic mode. You’re too smart and experienced to risk transporting your beloved furniture on your own — you know you need help.

3. You Don’t Have Time

When you have a jam-packed schedule full of work responsibilities, family obligations, and social commitments, the last thing you want to do is spend an entire weekend schlepping your stuff from one house to another. Let’s face it — the packing and unpacking processes are time-consuming enough.

“Hiring movers allows you to use your time and energy on all the other tasks surrounding your move that [cause] the majority of your stress,” says Cameron Doody, President of Bellhops.

Rather than spend time lifting and hauling boxes in and out of a truck bed, you can focus on other crucial moving steps, like transferring your utilities, filling out change of address forms, copying important documents, and helping your family and pets transition to a new home.

4. Your Back Hurts

You’re far too wise to subject yourself to multiple hours of bending and heavy-lifting when your back (or knees or neck or hips) is prone to injury. You know an ice pack and a few Advil won’t cut it anymore — you need strong, capable pros to get the job done for you.

5. Your Friends Aren’t Willing to Help

Gone are the days of bribing your friends with free pizza and booze in exchange for their Saturday afternoon and sweat. In fact, you’d much rather pick up the phone to call a moving company than send a group text asking for help.

“Your friends and family don’t really want to help you move, [anyway],” Doody says. “[They] want to come over and have a beer at your housewarming party.”

6. You Have More Money

Now that you earn more money than you did when you were fresh out of school, you’re willing to shell out extra cash to save yourself the time and hassle of moving on your own.

Not only that, but you don’t view the cost of moving as a necessary evil or something that would have been better spent on a fun Saturday night out, either — you see it as a smart investment in your own sanity.

As O’Donnell explains, the right professional will help “set up your new home quickly and efficiently, all while you sip wine and show off your [space] to all your friends.” Not a bad deal.